US novelist, and a quirky poet, following former president about (6,6)
I believe the answer is:
truman capote
'us novelist' is the definition.
'a quirky poet following former president about' is the wordplay.
'a quirky' is an anagram indicator.
'following' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'former president' becomes 'truman' (Harry Truman).
'about' becomes 'ca' (abbreviation for 'circa'**).
'poet' is an anagram of 'pote'.
'truman'+'ca'='trumanca'
'pote' after 'trumanca' is 'TRUMAN CAPOTE'.
'and' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for truman capote that I've seen before include "Author of Breakfast at Tiffany's" , "US author supplied" .)