With the help of professor Eduards Volters, he obtained a job at the library of the Russian Academy of Sciences before progressing tuberculosis forced him to return home.

Vaičaitis was born in the Santakai [lt] village on the Penta river near Sintautai, Suwałki Governorate, Congress Poland.

[6] Perhaps insulted by such a reception, Vaičaitis sent his other poems to Vienybė lietuvninkų, a Lithuanian newspaper published in Plymouth, Pennsylvania.

At the time, Pranaitytė was a gymnasium student in Saint Petersburg and they developed a close friendship that culminated in their engagement.

Since one of his seized letters discussed obtaining the history of Lithuania by Simonas Daukantas for Vaičaitis, he was also searched by the police which found a handwritten copy of a Lithuanian poem by Antanas Baranauskas.

[4] He was treated by Jonas Staugaitis and cared for by his fiancé Pranaitytė, but the family had no money for more extensive treatments and the tuberculosis progressed.

[1] The booklet also contained a loose and shortened translation of Christmas Eve by Nikolai Gogol, which was published by Jankus in 1892.

[15] The poetry varies in topic (nature, history, patriotism, social inequality, religion, personal experiences) and in mood (love, regret, nostalgia, anger, irony), but often expresses ideas of serving your nation and seeking justice.

[13] His works have influenced other poets, including Jonas Krikščiūnas (Jovaras), Liudas Gira, Julius Janonis.

Various poetry collections followed: Lyrika ir satyra (1951), Rinktinė (1956), Yra šalis (1964), Lėkite, dainos (1975), Kas našlaičius priglaus?

[4] In 1936, Vincas Grybas prepared a model for a monument to Vaičaitis, but it was not erected due to financial difficulties and the outbreak of World War II.

[3] A small museum exposition was collected in 1965; it was housed at the secondary school in Sintautai before it was moved to the homestead of the Vaičaitis family in 1995.