Respected female poet embracing the old (7)
I believe the answer is:
doyenne
'respected female' is the definition.
'poet embracing the old' is the wordplay.
'poet' becomes 'donne' (Donne is an example**).
'embracing' indicates putting letters inside.
'the old' becomes 'ye'.
'donne' placed around 'ye' is 'DOYENNE'.
(Other definitions for doyenne that I've seen before include "Woman who is senior member of her profession" , "Senior female member of a group" , "Female expert in a field" , "Senior female member of profession" , "most esteemed lady" .)