GMAT Sentence Correction (SC) | Re: The author Herman Melville and the poet Walt Whitman are

The author Herman Melville and the poet Walt Whitman are icons 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 beenicons