Study poetry and talk (8)
I believe the answer is:
converse
'talk' is the definition.
(I know that converse is a more specific form of talk)
'study poetry' is the wordplay.
'study' becomes 'con' (con can mean to study).
'poetry' becomes 'verse' (lines written in verse).
'con'+'verse'='CONVERSE'
'and' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for converse that I've seen before include "Discourse" , "Turned round" , "express thoughts and ideas?" , "speak" , "discuss" .)