Crossword Genius

Nonsensical poet sent north to island republic (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

israel

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'republic' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'nonsensical poet sent north to island' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'island' could be 'is' and 'is' is found within the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for israel that I've seen before include "Serial about middle east country" , "Sire, Al is in the Middle East" , "Strange serial country" , "Zion" , "Serial about middle-east state" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app