This collection consists primarily of American literary critic and literature professor Irving Malin's incoming correspondence from a wide range of professors, critics, and authors, such as Philip Roth, Paul Bowles, Don DeLillo, James Merrill, William Styron, James Purdy, Cynthia Ozick, Raymond Carver, Gordon Lish, and Joyce Carol Oates, among others. Some of the correspondence from authors is revealing in that many provide insight about their own artistic and, sometimes, emotional struggles as writers. Much of the incoming correspondence from fellow English professors, such as Harold Bloom and Leslie Fiedler, deals with the routine matters of academic life, such as rights and permissions for books, requests for contributions to critical collections or symposia, and university gossip; but also offer insight on how particular critics viewed certain authors.

Also included in the collection are some writings and manuscripts along with publisher files consisting primarily of legal and financial documents.