The collection is composed of: notebooks containing drafts of poems, 1932-1938, 1939-1941, 1944-1946; typescript of, and manuscript correspondence with notes by MacDiarmid, The refugees; four quatrains of poem For my newborn son, 1942, signed by Smith's son, Robin; corrected typescript of Gulls ride the storm, or, Agin black spats, 1942; Ishmael, or, Ye gods and little bitches, 1946; manuscript and typescript of The predicament of poetry today, 1948; signed proofs and copy of The wanderer and other poems, 1948; The carlin wife, 1949; notes for, galley proofs of part of, and page proofs of part of Carotid Cornucopius, 1947, 1964 and also letters from C. M. Grieve; manuscript of Carotid Cornucopius with typescript of preface by C. M. Grieve; author's typescript of So late into the night published in 1952; galley proofs and actor's prompt copy of The Wallace, 1960; manuscript, corrected typescript, duplicated script, and typescript with notes for screenplay Kynd Kittock's land, 1964; manuscript and corrected typescripts of The twa brigs, 1964; To Hugh MacDiarmid manuscript and corrected typescripts, and duplicated script with letter from G. Bruce, 1967; corrected typescripts, single sheets, and duplicated script of Full circle; corrected typescripts to Li Po; corrected typescripts of The little odyssey of Ou Tis; corrected typescript of The mask of Minos; corrected typescript and revised typescript of The rout of spring; galley proofs of Under the Eildon tree; corrected typescripts of The vision of the prodigal son and Said Heraclitus; translation of A. A. Blok's The twelve; working drafts of poems; letter to 'Dear Tommy' with typed article, A publisher of the nineties, 1938; letter to H. T. MacPherson, Dunfermline, 1955; letters to various persons about Burns and The merry muses of Caledonia, and proof of title page, 1955-1959; letters to Hamish Henderson, 1966; miscellaneous poems, typescript and holograph sent to C. M. Grieve, 1938-1943, also letters to Grieve enclosing typescripts of poems, 1939-1942, 1962 and 1964; and, letters to Stella Cartwright, 1969.
Material at E2005.27 is composed of three folders of material, containing: copy of The barrier of Scottish, copies of play The prince in Skye, various poems in typecript, foreword to collection of poems, copy of a letter to Maurice Lindsay, letters and accounts, letter of invitation from General Sir Edmund Allenby, and envelope of miscellaneous letters; copy of The bodach of Garbh Eilean, miscellaneous sketches and scribbles, graphic work and cards, envelope containing ephemera and cuttings, articles from Scottish field August 1962, and assorted cutting and review articles and letters from newspapers; envelope containing three obituary pieces in typescript, music, and printed poems. There is also an illuminated manuscript poem entitled Sydney Goodsir Smith: The eldritch sang in a paper cover which states 'by Roger Poole'.