Never one for the computer, Paula Poundstone finally caved because people wouldn't stop gushing about the "stupid" thing. Now the longtime comedian's tweeting and friending in between writing another book, promoting her first live comedy album called "I Heart Jokes," and continuing her dizzying tour schedule. Add four kids to the mix and a stint on an NPR news quiz show, and her best friend should be the computer.
Poundstone told us last week, before the local gig on March 13, about their love-hate relationship, putting the smack-down on haters and her "embarrassing" life.
It's been a couple years since we last chatted – how's life?
So much the same that it's embarrassing. Although, it's been about a year and a half since I started using a computer. Everyone told me it would make me so happy, that it would change my life. It hasn't.
That's right. You're used to doing everything the hard way. You wrote your 2006 book by hand.
I'm now writing another book, and the first part of it I wrote by hand, but the second part I'm using the stupid computer. It's going just as slow – maybe even slower – than the one that took me nine years to write. I'm not good at moving the cursor to erase something, so I just erase everything and start again.
I also do stupid Twitter and Facebook, and I've had a Web site for years and years – I just never could put anything on it myself. I enjoy those things. Well, I enjoy it a little bit.
What's the new book about?
My book is a series of experiments with things that other people told me or was told would make me happy. In fact, that's really how I came to be using the computer, because everybody told me, "Oooh, you're gonna love the computer." And it has just played into the worst parts of me. The good news is, I believe I have it under control. But there was a period of time where I was up far later than was prudent because of the constant checking. Like if the mailman might come several times a day, how many times do I open that front door – and for what? Oh, look, a Bed Bath & Beyond 20-percent-off card! By the way, you can go to Bed Bath & Beyond without the card and they'll still give you the 20-percent off (laughs).
Really?
They accept coupons from Denny's. They don't care.
How do you feel knowing you have "followers" and "friends" you don't know?
I hate all the words like "friends" and "followers" – they're creepy words. Part of the reason I started doing it was to get around the gatekeepers who decide if you can perform on their whatever. The people who like to come see me, I can just tell them I'm going to be at the blah blah blah. The hard thing, of course, is building up the numbers and all that. A lot of my job is selling tickets, quite honestly, and it's the least favorite part of my job. I just like thinking of funny things and saying them, but apparently that truly is not enough.
You don't like being your own promoter?
I really don't. The people that are very successful, it doesn't necessarily mean they are the funniest people out there. They are a mixture of the two things in general – one being that yeah, they're probably funny, but also they are excellent self-promoters. I mean, Houdini was not even a very good magician. He didn't have to be. He would make a bet with a newspaper that he could get out of handcuffs – and guess what? The newspaper promoted the hell out of it. And then people came down, and they say – I wasn't there, but I read a book in which I'm just trusting the author – he would go behind the curtain and then come out 40 minutes later with it uncuffed and people would go, "Woooo!" They would be on the edge of their seats the entire time – watching nothing (laughs).
I will say, as a result of doing the goofy Twitter thing, I never really thought I could write jokes on a daily basis before. I really thought that I had to wait on a mountain top for things to come to me, and now because I'm doing this, I really push myself. Not every single one is absolutely genius, but I keep up a pretty goddamn good stream, I think. Every now and then somebody has the nerve to write (to me): "Paula Poundstone's not funny." I think to myself, "I dare you. You go ahead and see if you can match me."
You've been in the business for a long time, you should me able to take 'em.
Yeah. If not mentally, then physically. I'm not above that (laughs).
Because you've been doing this for so long, do you ever feel like you're repeating yourself?
Whether I wrote it on the same topic, that's for sure. One thing that's been brought sharply into view by the goofy Twitter thing is how much the same my life is. In most ways that's not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it's comforting. Kids, airports, cats, politics here and there – it is pretty much the same. It explains why Cosmo always has the same cover. It's not that there are a thousand ways of having sex. It's that people like to be reminded of the 10 really good ones.
Maxim named you one of the "Worst Comedians of All Time" last year, along with other gay faves like Kathy Griffin and Margaret Cho. What's up with that?
Oh, I don't know. I don't know what it's based on or why. But if I am, then so be it. At least it's "of all time." At least I've had an impact throughout the stretch of mankind.
Paula Poundstone
8 p.m. March 13
Macomb Center for the Performing Arts
44575 Garfield Road, Clinton Township
$30-$52
