Poet inspiring the old senior member (7)
I believe the answer is:
doyenne
'senior member' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'poet inspiring the old' is the wordplay.
'poet' becomes 'Donne' (16th- and 17th- century poet John Donne).
'inspiring' indicates putting letters inside.
'the old' becomes 'ye' (resembles a historical spelling of 'the').
'donne' placed around 'ye' is 'DOYENNE'.
(Other definitions for doyenne that I've seen before include "highly-respected" , "Respected senior woman" , "most esteemed lady" , "Woman who is senior member of her profession" , "Leading lady" .)