by Benjy Eisen

After 23 years of being funny, comic Paula Poundstone found herself in the middle of a nasty court battle last year, involving alcohol, her kids, and a "lewd behavior" charge (which has since been dropped). It was a tough year for the comic, who reportedly once earned a million dollars a year in performance fees. But rather than being battled and torn, she has come back from the experience with a few laughs, which she’ll share with the audience on July 11, when she performs at Whitaker Center’s Sunoco Performance Theatre.

"When I think of things that I might want to pass on to my children," says Poundstone, on the phone from her home in Santa Monica, CA, "it would certainly be to be able to deal with ‘difficulty’ with a sense of humor. I find myself pretty good on the big stuff."

Which is good. This way, after two decades of being a comedian, she still has stuff to talk about on-stage. "My act is autobiographical, my own reflections on this or that, and it’s largely based on whatever I’ve been doing," she says candidly. "When I started in ’79, it was about public transportation and bussing tables. When I was 23, I think I did an hour about my car, given that it was the first car I had and that it broke down every few feet."

Her act is no longer about her first car. Poundstone now finds inspiration from her kids, her family, and even her court battles. "I think I’ve just become more and more myself on stage, as years have gone by," she says, "and I’ve become more comfortable with doing that."

Like all comedians, she has offended her share of people along the way, either with her f-bombs, or with her personal observations, but she stays the course and remains true to herself. As to the offended, Poundstone usually just figures that "I’ve somehow said something that bothered that person. Generally, I decide they’re in the clergy."

"I remember a long time ago," she laughs, "my mother was upset, because she felt that I made fun of her and my father on stage…the thing is, if no one knew what I was talking about, then they wouldn’t laugh."