Stories of war and conflict form the backbone of much of the Western literary canon, portraying a certain image of heroism, stoicism, and survival in the face of violence. War and Imagination challenges the canon with essays, short stories, and a wide variety of perspectives.

Paying particular attention to the twentieth century and prioritizing the writings of civilians, the works highlighted in War and Imagination offer an opportunity to challenge representations of well-known conflicts with a wide variety of pieces from the frontlines and beyond, such as letters from German soldiers at the siege of Stalingrad, a Holocaust memoir by physicist Abraham Pais, a previously unpublished story by Tennessee Williams, a haunting tale of the Spanish Civil War, and a fresh translation of the final act of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The selections chosen from this anthology make real the unimaginable horrors of survival during wartime while showcasing unique interpretations that allow readers to ponder the mystery from another point of view.

War and Imagination includes selections from Tennessee Williams, Louis Simpson, Nina Bogin, Leo Tolstoy, Lara Prescott, Maxine Kumin, Benjamin Fondane, Maria Terrone, Brooke Allen, and more.