The Suite (212) Sessions, no. 7 - Lars Iyer

In the wake of the coronavirus epidemic and shutting down of much of the UK's cultural life, we have decided to bring you a series of interviews with contemporary artists, writers, filmmakers and other cultural figures, conducted via Skype (so apologies for the diminished audio quality), about their practices, the political issues that inspire them and the socio-economic conditions that have shaped their work. In the seventh of these Sessions, Juliet talks to writer and academic Lars Iyer about his new novel, Nietzsche and the Burbs (2019), which transposes the German philosopher – or an avatar for him – to a contemporary sixth form college in the suburbs of Wokingham, where he fronts a band. They also talked about Iyer’s previous novel Wittgenstein Jr. (2014) and the neoliberal assault on the university; how philosophy and philosophers are perceived and treated in the UK; how Iyer’s Spurious trilogy grew out of his blog; how the internet and social media have reduced the distance between writers and readers; the usefulness of ‘autofiction’; and the end of the ‘end of history’. A full list of references for the programme, with links, can be found via our Patreon at www.patreon.com/suite212, and are available to $3 subscribers.