Could the word "artist" be used to refer to a writer?

I think if someone thought about it they would agree that writers are artists but the common thought of "artist" is a painter, singer, dancer, actor. A writer is not the first example that would spring to many minds.

Language is meant to convey meaning or emotion, and linguistic art would be a happy use of the tools created to record events or write royal decrees. In calling a writer an artist, would you be misleading the reader? If so, is the deception or misdirection serving a purpose?

If you want to make the point that writers can be artists, it seems appropriate to acknowledge that some writers have gone beyond clarity and craft, creating a thing that someone, somewhere would define as art.

There is some overlap between artists and writers, but not all writers are artists.

For example, Shakespeare is certainly an artist, but a person making a living writing as a writer of technical articles for MSDN probably is not (even if they authored a few books).

Of course, the line is subjective and can be disputed. Are bad poets artists? What about exceptionally good technical writers?