Matthew McConaughey has recently unveiled the true motive behind penning his poetry collection, *Poetry & Poems*. The *Interstellar* star reminisced about clinching first place in a poetry contest during his seventh-grade year, only to confess that the winning poem wasn't actually his own creation.
At the time, Matthew had given writing poetry a shot and proudly showed his early attempt to his mother, Kay McConaughey. However, his mother wasn't impressed and instead produced another poem, urging him to submit it under his name for the contest. Young Matthew, perhaps swayed by the promise of recognition, acquiesced with a simple, "It's good." His mother then declared, "It's yours now. Write that down," prompting a bewildered Matthew to ask, "And sign my name to it?" "I did," he later admitted with a hint of sheepishness, adding, "I won. So, straight-up plagiarism."
Yet, Matthew revealed to *PEOPLE* magazine that this incident didn't extinguish his passion for poetry; instead, it ignited a flame that burned brightly throughout his youth and into adulthood. This month, the *Dallas Buyers’ Club* luminary unveiled his inaugural collection of poems, a tapestry of verses that span the spectrum from "times when I was on top of the world to times when I was lost in the abyss."
Delving into his creative process, Matthew recounted moments of solitude, where he found himself "off in a distant land, devoid of friends or distractions. It was just me and my thoughts." "And I was scribbling poetry, attempting to decipher the enigma of life, engaging in a profound dialogue with myself," shared the actor-turned-author.
The Oscar-winning luminary, who previously penned the bestselling memoir *Greenlights* in 2020, remarked that his initial forays into writing were "solid, but tinged with a heavy dose of self-seriousness." "I persisted in writing... sometimes it was a beacon of aspiration, other times a refuge during periods of profound doubt and waning belief," Matthew elaborated.
He further divulged, "There were times when I was utterly perplexed, frustrated, and plagued by nightmares that morphed into daymares." "I began to notice a subtle undercurrent of cynicism creeping into my perspective," he added, hinting at the emotional turmoil that often fueled his creative endeavors.
