Article penned by distant relative (6)
I believe the answer is:
father
'relative' is the definition.
(father is a kind of relative)
'article penned by distant' is the wordplay.
'article' becomes 'the' (the 'definite article' part of speech).
'penned by' is an insertion indicator.
'distant' becomes 'far' (synonyms).
'the' put inside 'far' is 'FATHER'.
(Other definitions for father that I've seen before include "Raft he made for a relative" , "PA" , "dad" , "Old man" , "and 13: Jolly gift-deliverer" .)