Speaks against poetry (9)

I believe the answer is:

converses

'speaks' is the definition.
(conversing is a kind of speaking)

'against poetry' is the wordplay.
'against' becomes 'con' (I've seen this before).
'poetry' becomes 'verses' (I've seen this in other clues).
'con'+'verses'='CONVERSES'

(Another definition for converses that I've seen is " Talks".)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.

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