Poems hit out at literary fiend (8)

I believe the answer is:

mephisto

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

'literary fiend' is the definition.
I know nothing about this answer so I can't judge whether this works.

'poems hit out' is the wordplay.
'out' is an anagram indicator (out can mean wrong or inaccurate).
'poems'+'hit'='poemshit'
'poemshit' with letters rearranged gives 'MEPHISTO'.

'at' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for mephisto that I've seen before include "Liszt wrote four such waltzes inspired by Faust" , "Devil in medieval mythology" , "cracking puzzle?" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.