Crude poem isn’t helping relations (8)
I believe the answer is:
nepotism
'helping relations' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both acts as well as being singular nouns.
Perhaps they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'crude poem isn't' is the wordplay.
'crude' is an anagram indicator.
'poem'+'isnt'='poemisnt'
'poemisnt' with letters rearranged gives 'NEPOTISM'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for nepotism that I've seen before include "Pro-family bias" , "Favouritism shown in hiring relatives" , "example of relative favouritism" , "keeping it in the family" , "Undue partiality" .)