Attempt by US writer to produce verse (6)
I believe the answer is:
poetry
'verse' is the definition.
('poetry' can be a synonym of 'verse')
'attempt by us writer' is the wordplay.
'attempt' becomes 'try' (I've seen this before).
'by' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'us writer' becomes 'poe' (I've seen this before).
'try' after 'poe' is 'POETRY'.
'to produce' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for poetry that I've seen before include "Verse" , "Verses" , "Work by Keats or Shelley, say" , "showing lyrical quality" , "Lines" .)