The materials in this series are grouped according to the nature of the correspondence, whether general or personal. The majority of the letters are incoming correspondence. Letters by famous correspondents (Lyndon B. Johnson, Archibald MacLeish and Ada Hitchcock MacLeish, and Carl Sandburg) are filed alphabetically by name.

General correspondence relates to Buchman’s writing and work from 1958 to 1986. It comprises letters from admirers, other poets, poetry associations and societies, and editors. Many of the admirers request or acknowledge copies of Buchman’s poems and books. Fellow poets and editors share their impressions of and opinions on her work. Other letters concern poetry competition prizes, talks and poetry readings, conferences, and Poetry Society of America membership.

Personal correspondence covers the period 1932 to approximately 1980 and is arranged chronologically. Within each folder, the materials are in original order. Letters written between 1932 and 1938 are from suitors, relatives and friends. Suitors include her cousin Morton Goldman, Navy sailor Lester Walsky, Jack Berger, Harry [possibly her future husband Harold Buchman], Lee, and other passing admirers. Relatives include her cousins Bernard Goldman and Marcelle Hildebrand, her aunt Minnie, her brother, and her father. Some of these letters document the few months she spent in New York City in 1935.

After Marion’s marriage in 1938, her primary personal correspondents include family, friends, and mildly disgruntled ex-lovers. Cards and notes mark the births of Sara Erica and Sharon, her two daughters. A few cards and letters are addressed to Buchman’s daughters. There is a draft of a letter by Buchman addressed to a guest on a radio program about gifted children. A draft of a 1973 letter by Marion addressed to Harold expresses her emotional reaction to an event or events that possibly precipitated their divorce.

The group of letters from 1973 to 1977 document the period after Marion’s divorce from Harold. During this time, she split her time between Baltimore and England. A few letters are from Sara Erica and Sharon, her daughters. The majority of the letters, however, are from Marion’s romantic interests and lovers on both sides of the Atlantic. They include E. Renette, Hershel Barry Raymond, Ahmed el Harrak, and Dr. A. M. Aly (a professor of Public Health at Johns Hopkins). In particular, Englishman John Chandler and Johns Hopkins undergraduate Matthew Kline composed love letters suggesting serious attachment to Marion. A few drafts of Buchman’s letters to Kline are in this group. Correspondence from her friend Leonard Clark from England is also included.

After Marion Buchman’s death, her daughter Sara Erica Haus drafted notes to send to the obituaries editor at the Baltimore Sun, which are also contained in this series. Her ideas were incorporated into Buchman’s printed obituary.