[Notes on the Making of ‘The Martian’ 2]

One last addition to the notes on the composition of ‘The Martian’ – in the same prose poem sequence (written when I was 19 or so) published in Salient, that I mention, there was a section where I wrote of seagulls as symbols of ideal purity and animal ferocity, and said –

I have turned from the morning doorways of bars to watch them, the taste in my mouth of rum or vomit –

Thus, in ‘The Martian’ –

. . . rum, vomit, girls, police
And motorbikes . . .

It is another small link with autobiographical material. There is an intended irony in including ‘girls’ in the list of what defeats the protagonist.

This is about all, I think.

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