Barry Crimmins is best known as one of the country's top political comedians. He has worked as an Air America writer and columnist and is the author of Never Shake Hands with a War Criminal. Most comedians owe Crimmins a huge debt; he founded the Boston comedy scene, starting with the famous Ding Ho. This comedy club, produced by Barry inside a tiny Chinese food restaurant, spawned such amazing comedians such as Steven Wright, Paula Poundstone, Bobcat Goldthwait, Kevin Meaney, Jimmy Tingle, Dennis Leary, and Lenny Clarke, just to name a few. They all soared to new heights because Barry set the bar so high.

Who do you think were your influences?

My hilarious childhood friends: Mark Twain, Lenny Bruce, Tommy Smothers.

Do you remember your first original joke?

They taught us how to write a haiku in the third grade. I wrote:

Is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow or in my dad's pocket

and it got published in the Syracuse newspaper.

When did you realize that comedy was something you had to do for a living?

When I realized anything else would entail working.

What was your first job in comedy writing or performance?

I won a talent contest at the Four Seasons Lounge in North Conway, New Hampshire, in 1973.

What is the biggest difficulty you've encountered being a comedy writer?

Trite expectations and demands of corporate play-it-safers.

Are there jokes that you do just for you?

Sure, but they're private.

As a political comedian, what is your biggest challenge?

The narrowness of the American political spectrum. It goes from just right of center to the far right. Of course, this is also a blessing because it is easy to be considered outrageous just for expressing views that would be considered moderate almost anywhere else in the world.

What are the differences between writing for yourself and writing for others?

That becomes very specific. In some cases, it's almost the same. In other cases, you must first cater to the enlarged ego of the personality — in those cases you must first ask the question, “Yes, but how does this international crisis revolve around the talent?”

What do you find exciting about comedy right now?

I am excited that Bush will soon be gone and … a lot of recently minted political humorists will realize that it isn't always so easy to write relevant material.

Where do you think the future of comedy is headed?

I think the movie Idiocracy covered it nicely.

As audiences become more specific and more segmented, is your job becoming easier or more difficult?

My job remains the same. I provide people with things to take to other people. Such is the lot of the subversive.

What is the best thing about being a comedy writer?

There is always hope of escape.

Do you have any advice for up-and-coming comedy writers?

Watch the movie Idiocracy.