While in the seminary, Baranauskas started writing poems in Lithuanian, and from that time essentially wrote in that language. One of his earlier works written under the influence of Mickiewicz was "Anykščių šilelis" ("The Forest/Pinewood of Anykščiai"). It is considered a classic work of Lithuanian literature. Literature critics consider it as a symbolic reference to Lithuanian history and language. While some critics contend that Baranauskas wrote the poem in anger, in response to an assertion by his lector Alexander Gabszewicz that the Lithuanian language was not beautiful enough to write poems in, others dispute this as a misinterpretation. The poem was first published in 1861, and again in 1862 in Laurynas Ivinskis' calendars.