Jack Black (author)

Jack Black was a late 19th century/early 20th century hobo, living out the dying age of the Wild West. He wrote You Can't Win, a memoir or sketched autobiography describing his days on the road and life as an honorable outlaw. Black's book was written as an anti-crime book urging criminals to go straight but is also his statement of belief in the futility of prisons and the criminal justice system, hence the title of the book. Jack Black was writing from experience, having had plenty of experience in petty crime himself for which he did time in jail.

Jack Black is an essentially anonymous figure (even his actual name is uncertain) who is recognised through association with William S. Burroughs. Although his philosophy on life was epically influential to Burroughs, who associated with similar characters in his early adulthood and mirrored the style of "You Can't Win" with his first published book, "Junkie", Black's writings also had a profound effect on the writings and lives of all the Beat Generation.

Jack Black eventually wrote some articles in newspapers and became an anti-prison activist. He was able to gain some amount of popularity through this, but it all subsided quickly. He died during the Great Depression due to a drowning, widely believed to be a suicide.