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I think the poet here is James FENTON, former Oxford Professor of Poetry.

How does that parse Jack ?

FENTON (Contemporary poet) - ON (not on) = FENT ('a slit or crack').

I had heard of fent when I did dressmaking but would not have thought of it as a 'crack' but you may be right

I still don't know what is wrong with "Renton" as the poet- be it Ellen or Daniel?

I'm afraid that dressmaking is conspicuously absent from my CV, but the OED confirms that a FENT can be a remnant of cloth or (in some places) the binding of any part of a dress. It also confirms that a FENT is a crack or fissure.

I've no doubt that FENT is the right answer as with due respect to the other '?ENTONs', James Fenton is the most famous by a mile - he won the Queen's Medal for Poetry in 2007. I agree about the potential ambiguity, though - the clue would have been much better written as 'Contemporary poet James not on crack'.

Well, I have to bow to your greater knowledge, Jack .

Is that wise? I don't even know the difference between a gusset and a dart, which can be very embarrassing in pubs.

Oh dear ! ;-)

Does anyone else think 26 Down is a little tasteless?