[1] In 1911, the family moved to the nearby Mieleišiai [lt] village where his parents rented 10 hectares (25 acres) of land.

His older siblings, brother Mykolas and sister Marija, did not attend school due to financial difficulties.

He always struggled financially; he received some help from his brother Mykolas and priest Povilas Jakubėnas[1] in addition to earning a few rubles by tutoring others.

[2] He translated Latvian folk songs on poor orphans hired by local peasants as well as poems by Alexander Pushkin and Aleksey Koltsov.

[3] At the time, there were two major camps of Lithuanian activist – more conservative Catholic ateitininkai and more progressive leftist aušrininkai.

Janonis joined activities of aušrininkai with a group of students at his school that held informal gatherings were they shared and discussed books and periodicals.

[2] With assistance from doctor Mykolas Kuprevičius [lt] and attorney Kazimieras Venclauskis and a small stipend from Žiburėlis, Janonis continued his education and aušrininkai activities at Šiauliai Gymnasium in 1913.

In 1914, he edited almanac Nauju taku (On New Path) which included works by Janonis, Vincas Mickevičius-Kapsukas, Balys Sruoga.

[2] In Petrograd, Janonis enrolled at the XII Gymnasium and joined the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (bolsheviks).

He learned poetry from older Lithuanian poets, primarily Stanislovas Dagilis [lt] (Janonis knew him personally) and Maironis.

[6] His early poems were about nature, personal feelings (e.g. his unrequited love, struggles to reconcile reality with ideals and unreachable life goals), and suffering of the poor.

[3] According to literary critic Vytautas Kubilius, "he combined precise detail and concrete imagery with intense lyricism and the energy of strongly felt experience.

"[4] Several Janonis' poems were turned into songs by composers Mikas Petrauskas, Stasys Šimkus, Juozas Gruodis, Nikodemas Martinonis, Jonas Dambrauskas, and others.

[2] Janonis translated several poems from Russian, including Requiem ("Don't mourn dead fighters…") by Liodor Palmin which became popular and was sung by the Lithuanian Riflemen's Union.

To suit Soviet needs, his biography was edited to remove undesirable elements (such as his religious beliefs) and emphasize revolutionary activities (such as his participation in various worker strikes and protests).

The monument depicts a highly stylized anvil with a brass bell – both elements taken from Janonis' poems written while he lived in Šiauliai.

[9] In 1957, a play Pamilau dangaus žydrumą (I Fell in Love with the Blue of the Sky – the first line of the last poem written by Janonis) by Julius Būtėnas and Aleksandras Kernagis was staged at the Academic Drama Theater.