The great American poet and writer Maya Angelou was on the UCI campus at least three times during her life. She gave a lecture/reading on February 3, 1982 in Crawford Hall, as part of Black History Month. On November 18, 1999, Maya Angelou spoke at the Bren Event Center.  “An Evening With Maya Angelou” took place on November 1, 2001, again at the Bren Event Center, as part of the 17th Annual Rainbow Festival and Conference. All three of these events were sold out, and were incredibly moving and inspiring to all present.

Below is the copy in Special Collections & Archives of the first printing of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou’s first book, published in 1969.