Dante eviscerated rival author (5)
I believe the answer is:
defoe
'author' is the definition.
(Daniel Defoe)
'dante eviscerated rival' is the wordplay.
'eviscerated' suggests removing the centre (the word is disembowelled of its inside letters).
'rival' becomes 'foe' (foe is a kind of rival).
'dante' with its middle removed is 'de'.
'de'+'foe'='DEFOE'
(Other definitions for defoe that I've seen before include "pamphleteer and novelist" , "Daniel, author of Robinson Crusoe" , "Author of Moll Flanders, d. 1731" , "Writer of Moll Flanders" , "Robinson Crusoe's creator, d. 1731" .)