Author briefly encapsulating first person in intertwined strands (5)
I believe the answer is:
plait
'author briefly encapsulating' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.
'first person in intertwined strands' is the wordplay.
'first person' becomes 'p' (lst letter of 'person').
'in intertwined strands' becomes 'lait' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'p'+'lait'='PLAIT'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for plait that I've seen before include "A twine of hair" , "Woven length of hair" , "Interweave (lengths of hair)" , "Intertwine" , "Rope-like length of hair" .)