Povilas Višinskis was a Lithuanian cultural and political activist during the Lithuanian National Revival. He is best remembered as a mentor of literary talent. He discovered Julija Žymantienė (Žemaitė) and advised Marija Pečkauskaitė, Sofija Pšibiliauskienė, Gabrielė Petkevičaitė (Bitė), Jonas Biliūnas, Jonas Krikščiūnas (Jovaras), helping them edit and publish their first works.

Žemaitė was the pen name of Julija Beniuševičiūtė-Žymantienė. She was a Lithuanian/Samogitian writer, democrat and educator. Born to impoverished gentry, she became one of the major participants in the Lithuanian National Revival. She wrote about peasant life in the style best described as realism.