It rarely turns out to be poetic, for instance (8)
I believe the answer is:
literary
'to be poetic for instance' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.
'it rarely turns' is the wordplay.
'turns' indicates anagramming the letters.
'it'+'rarely'='itrarely'
'itrarely' with letters rearranged gives 'LITERARY'.
'out' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for literary that I've seen before include "Learned" , "Relating to writing of artistic merit (8)" , "Well-read" , "Relating to books and other writings" , "Bookish" .)