Poet in squalid room without alcohol (6)
I believe the answer is:
dryden
'poet' is the definition.
(John Dryden)
'squalid room without alcohol' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'room' could be 'den' (den is a kind of room) and 'den' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'dry' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
'in' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for dryden that I've seen before include "John -, English seventeenth century poet, dramatist" , "17th century English poet and dramatist" , "John --, first Poet Laureate" , "Mac Flecknoe was his" , "Charles II's Poet Laureate" .)