World Without Heroes

‘World Without Heroes’ is a suite of seven passages from Ursula K. Le Guin’s translation of the Tao Te Ching, recorded in response to Le Guin’s essay ‘Carrier Bag of Fiction’ for the now-postponed ‘Carrier Bag Fiction’ event at Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin.

“One relationship among elements in the novel may well be that of conflict, but the reduction of narrative to conflict is absurd….conflict, competition, stress, struggle, etc., within the narrative conceived as carrier bag/belly/box/house/medicine bundle, may be seen as necessary elements of a whole which itself cannot be characterized either as conflict of harmony, since its purpose is neither resolution nor stasis but continuing process.” (Ursula K. Le Guin, 1986)

A few of the passages feature on the Public Knowledge: Carrier Bag of Music mix, co-presented by HKW, Camden Arts Centre and Ignota Books.