"I decided I wanted to be a standup comic when I was really little. I didn't know what a stand-up comic was, but I was familiar with the term comedian. Adults would always say things like 'You're such a comedian,' and I wanted to be who I was when they said that."

She had a rocky academic career at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High, and moved almost immediately to the comic arena, hitting the open mike at 19 and "doing things here and there" by 23. She didn't receive much parental support for her career move.

"My parents were very embarrassed at first," says Poundstone tightly. "I don't much know what they think of my work--I haven't talked to them in years. They gave me the message that it was one thing to be a failure privately, but to bring it to the public eye was unacceptable."

So Poundstone looked elsewhere for confirmation. She says the desire for validation is one thing that drives her, and recalls her first experience with The Tonight Show as evidence.

"I swear I almost had a breakdown. Johnny Carson is sitting a little behind you when you're up there performing. So while another performer is on, you can see the host getting his thoughts together. For some odd reason, I got up there and I was doing my act, working really hard, and then this little corner section of mind piped up and I started thinking, 'I wonder if Johnny likes me.' It just goes to show what kind of a bonehead I am. It will probably take years of therapy to get over it."

Poundstone is very firm about her work, and says that no one-neither audience nor executives--determines what goes into her work.

"In terms of my work," she says, "my opinion is most important."