Pisarev, Pushkin and boots

[Donald Fanger]

See Pisarev, "Razrushenie estetiki"...
        df

On Sun, 29 Jun 1997, Paul A. Klanderud wrote:

> A question on a quote which I thought belonged to the 19th century
> nihilist/critic Dmitry Pisarev.  Lodged in my memory, perhaps from some
> undergraduate course long ago, was a quote along the lines of, "A pair of
> boots is worth more than all of Pushkin."
>
> Does anyone know if such a quote really exists, and if so, does it belong to
> Pisarev?  I've been reading an abridged translation of his "Realists" essay
> (in a collection ed. by Edie and Scanlan), and have seen references to
> advising poets whose work has no social utility "to take up making boots or
> baking pies," but nothing quite close enough to the quote I think exists.
>
> Any insight would be appreciated.
>
> Paul Klanderud
>