Robert Indiana kept a series of illustrated journals during the late 1950s and 1960s, in which he discusses the development of his work as well as his daily life on Coenties Slip.

In his journal entry for January 12, 1962, Indiana records that he had meant to do certain things for the Anderson (gallery owner David Anderson and his wife Becky) visit that evening, such as bringing a construction into fresher focus, or working on the "new old wood" that he found, but that it didn't happen because he was "taken too much with [the] challenge of [his] new painting [Eat/Die]." He notes working on the spacing for his largest letters yet, using construction paper that J. (his partner, fashion designer John Kloss) had bought for him. The letters, spelling "EAT," are illustrated in the entry.

He then describes the dinner with the Andersons, a homemade feast of beef with creamed artichokes, avocado salad, potatoes, and cheesecake. After dinner they took a trip upstairs to see the "summer paintings." Indiana notes that the "drawings seemed [to] catch everyone's eye and David was struck by [the] new Polygons," and asked that he bring them to the gallery when finished. Indiana also records the "same typical discontentment" with the larger works, and that nothing concrete was put forth. There was no mention of a summer show, although David said he gave slides of the spring show (Indiana / Forakis) to a gallery in London, Gallery One, and that they liked Indiana's work, but that he was not otherwise enthusiastic about the gallery.