The Helen Luster collection, circa 1889-1988 (bulk 1967-1972), mainly covers her professional poetry work from New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Boulder, Colorado; and her coursework from Naropa University and other institutions covering topics such as poetics, physics, science, and parapsychology. Material includes holograph and typed manuscripts, correspondence, clippings, photographs, spiral bound notebooks, notes and poems written on napkins and other ephemera, flyers, conference catalogs, and personal documents. Of particular note is her Allen Ginsberg file containing correspondence, manuscripts, and appraisal information for her personal Ginsberg literary collection; her school work, journals and notebooks documenting classes that she took with Allen Ginsberg, Bernadette Mayer, Anne Waldman, William S. Burroughs, and Lawrence Ferlinghetti; correspondence with poets, critics, scientists, and science fiction writers; and her professional work, such as founding the Los Angeles Poetry Center.

The collection is organized in twelve series.

The manuscripts series contains manuscripts, and production material for published works as well as loose poems and writings. Luster's writings are interwoven through most of the series, but this series contains identified manuscript material by Helen or others. Published manuscripts include material related to Helen Luster's published poetry books including A Watcher from That Moment, Year of the Hare, and the heptology, I(EE). Materials include manuscripts, dummies, proofs, artwork, negatives, paste-ups, business material such as permissions and copyright forms, publicity, and reviews. More material for Year of the Hare and I(EE) book seven, Crystal, can be found in PCMS-0049, Manroot/Paul Mariah collection. Manroot was the publisher for these two books. Unpublished manuscripts contain titled and untitled manuscripts. Titled works include manuscripts for books that were never published including Tubular, Alice Kabbala, Horus, Mercurius and Sirius, as well as other small poems and working manuscripts.

The correspondence series contains correspondence, clippings, and photographs between and about other poets mostly. The largest correspondent file is between Luster and Herb Caen, a columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle. Other correspondents of note are, but not limited to, Ronald Bayes, Yu Suwa, David Bromige, John Montgomery, Ann Waldman, Bernadette Mayer, and Gene Fowler. Luster also wrote to scientists and science fiction writers about her last book in the I(EE) series, Crystal. Of particular note are Carl Sagan and Robert Anton Wilson.

The Allen Ginsberg series documents Helen Luster's relationship, both social and professional, with Allen Ginsberg. Luster was his secretary at Naropa, took many of his classes, was his biographer, and had a large literary collection of Ginsberg's work. A majority of the series consists of correspondence between Charles Upton, Elizabeth Chandler (Betty Luster), Helen Luster, and Allen Ginsberg; and the corresponding book length manuscripts created from these letters under multiple working titles including the Oracle Letters. Also included are manuscripts for "ET and Me" a long poem; Sun, Moon, Bear Productions' appraisal for Luster's Ginsberg literary collection; and a directive in her will concerning dispersal of the collection and correspondence to be executed by Paul Mariah.

The professional work series contains material such as flyers, conference programs, notes, clippings, manuscripts and correspondence relating to Helen Luster's professional poetry and parapsychology work. Included is material related to the Los Angeles Poetry Center and the Russian River Writer's Guild; workshops, readings, conferences, festivals, and speeches; rejections and submissions to poetry magazines (Bombay Gin, Naropa); and translations of Aimé Césaire.

The research series includes clippings, notes, writings, and articles pertaining to different topics such as science, religion, cats, parapsychology, crystals, health, and other topics related to her writing. Series also includes four folders of bibliography notes and two folders of miscellaneous clippings.

The parapsychology series contains material related to Helen Luster's clairvoyant and psychic experiences. Materials include typed and holograph notes, diaries, journals, and poetry; and notes from seance and crystal visualization group meetings.

The school work series includes loose, mostly holograph, material related to Helen Luster's classes from New York to Los Angeles and many other identified and unidentified colleges and universities. A majority of the material is from Naropa University, Boulder, Colorado and includes the reading list for the master's comprehensive exam. Subjects include vocabulary, poetry, science, religion, and parapsychology. Additional coursework can be found in the journals series.

The journals series contains 65 holograph notebooks and 6 folders of loose typed pages from these notebooks. The notebooks are mostly Naropa class notes and poems, but also contain date books, diaries, miscellaneous notes, lists, and poetry.

The memorial series contains an obituary for Helen Luster written by Paul Mariah, correspondence, condolences, clippings, and ephemera related to her passing from cancer. Luster died March 3, 1985, in Santa Rosa, California.

The Elizabeth Chandler (Betty Luster) series contains correspondence between Helen luster and her sister; notes and writings from Elizabeth Chandler's trip to Central America in 1958; photographs and manuscripts.

The Donna Allan series contains estate papers for Donna and Richard Allan; poetry manuscripts and production material for Donna Allan's poetry; invitations to the white house from President McKinley; and newspaper clippings about Donna [Cope] Allan translating Japanese poetry.

The Photographs series contains photographs bearing artwork for Helen Luster's books; Luster's friends and family burying her ashes; and portraits and self-portraits, some cut into small pieces or cropped.