Poems & Prayers

Matthew McConaughey had a long career as an actor before he became an author. His first movie appearance was in Dazed and Confused (1993). He was best known in the 2000s for his roles in romantic comedies. In the next decade, he moved on to more dramatic roles, including The Lincoln Lawyer (2012) and Dallas Buyers Club (2013), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. 

In 2020, McConaughey published the memoir Greenlights, using diaries he had started writing when he was 14. The memoir was an immediate hit, reaching #1 on the New York Times nonfiction bestseller list and remaining on it for 55 weeks. 

Several years later, McConaughey put together a collection of his poems. He had been writing poetry since 1989. In a prepublication announcement on his YouTube channel, he explained why he thought the book was necessary: The rules and expectations for ourselves and each other had become confused, and it was hard to know what to have faith in. He described Poems & Prayers as a “book about belief”: “I want more belief. I want more belief in myself. I want more belief in you, others. I want more belief in God [...] If anything, we’re finding reasons not to believe. And I’m not ready to give up on belief” (Matthew McConaughey YouTube Channel. “Poems & Prayers - Book Announcement by Matthew McConaughey.” YouTube, 2025).

In an interview with Christiane Amanpour for CNN in September 2025, McConaughey said that over the last couple of years he had found himself becoming “a little cynical” (CNN YouTube Channel. “Matthew McConaughey’s New Book, ‘Poems & Prayers’ Reflects His Lifelong Faith.” YouTube, 2025). Many other people he talked to felt similarly given what was happening in the world. In response, McConaughey decided to strengthen his faith in God; however, he pointed out that Poems and Prayers is not only for a religious audience: “Any philosophy, as long as it’s not tyrannical and harming a bunch of people [is] a real way to make a step forward collectively as humanity” (CNN YouTube Channel).