Talks given by an obscure recluse about the outback (8)
I believe the answer is:
lectures
'talks' is the definition.
(I know this)
'an obscure recluse about the outback' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'about' could be 're' ('re' means regarding or about) and 're' is found within the answer.
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is present in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'given by' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Another definition for lectures that I've seen is " Discourses".)