Walt Whitman selected his own
What poet selected his own burial -place and designed his own sepulcher ? Walt Whitman selected his own burial-place and designed his own tomb . Harleigh Cemetery, a mile or two outside of Cam-den , New Jersey, is the place h e selected for his burial . On a steep hillside clothed by natural forest trees , —oaks , beeches , and hickories , —he prepared his sepulcher , designing it himself and coming frequently, until too infirm to do so longer , to supervise the work of construction , which was completed but a little time before his death . The tomb is a capacious vault of ponderous , rough - tooled blocks o f granite , surmounted by a triangular mass , weighing several tons , which is graven with his name . The massive stone door stands ajar , and through it may be seen the sealed crypts which contain the ashes of the poet and some of his kindred.

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