[u]The author Herman Melville and the poet Walt Whitman are icons[/u] of American literature, greatly beloved by generations past and present.

A. The author Herman Melville and the poet Walt Whitman are icons
B. Herman Melville the author and Walt Whitman the poet are icons
C. The author named Herman Melville and the poet named Walt
Whitman are great icons
D. The author, Herman Melville, and the poet, Walt Whitman, are icons
E. Herman Melville, the author, and Walt Whitman, the poet, had been
icons