Wendell Capili, writer and academic, may very well be the incarnation of Prof. Keating’s character (played by Robin Williams) in the film Dead Poets Society.

His students at the University of the Philippines Diliman, where he taught communication and humanities courses before completing his PhD at the University of Canberra in Australia (he just got back after three years), remember him as a “life coach” who tapped their inner strength, gave them confidence, and believed in them (scroll through his Friendster testimonials).

At the College of Arts and Letters, where he is associate dean for administration and development, Capili is referred to fondly as someone deeply committed to teaching and especially to the university.

From what she does to borrowers who won’t return her books to her writing habits, Carlos Palanca awardee and author of the best-seller Twisted series Jessica Zafra dishes on her life, likes, and who she would trade places with.

Online readers know Dean Francis Alfar as the multi-awarded literary guy who blogs (his site, Notes from the Peanut Gallery, www.deanalfar.blogspot.com is blogrolled by many). He is a suki (a regular) speaker at blogging conventions and graphic design conferences.

You can also say he’s a regular at the Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature: Dean has nine citations for six plays, a short story (“How Rosang Taba Won a Race,” in 2006), a futuristic fiction piece, and a novel (Salamanca, which bagged the grand prize in 2005).

Agusan-born Barrios has come a long way since she was discovered by musician Joey Ayala in Davao. Touring extensively with Ayala’s group Bagong Lumad helped her finish college (she has a degree in education) and paved a way for a solo singing career. While embarking on her own was a big decision for her as an artist, the industry made room and she carved a niche of her own.

KENNETH COBONPUE needs no introduction to people who know furniture and design. The Cebu-born furniture designer went to Pratt Institute in New York and apprenticed in Florence, Italy, and Munich, Germany, for woodworking, upholstery, and cabinet making. Aside from winning the 2005 Design for Asia Award for his Lolah collection, Kenneth’s craftsmanship has been acknowledged in the International Contemporary Furniture Fair, the Singapore International Furniture Design Competition, IIDA/Hospitality Design Product Competition, and the High Point Show. He is also a member of Movement 8, a select group of Filipino designers.

Kenneth is known for his A-list clientele, including Hollywood actor Brad Pitt, who bought one of his Voyage beds, and Warner Brothers, which commissioned him to furnish a casino set for the movie Ocean’s Thirteen.

A PHOTOJOURNALIST, slowly losing his vision, teaches his teenage son the ropes in preparation for the real world.

Newsbreak lensman Luis Liwanag’s initiation into photojournalism occurred one night in the eighties at a print house in Avenida, where he was doing presswork as photographer for the University of the East paper, The Dawn.

Our inaugural interviewee is award-winning Filipino journalist Sheila S. Coronel who was recently appointed director and faculty chair of the newly established Toni Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism in New York. Coronel founded the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) and was instrumental in promoting the importance of investigative journalism in the country. The interview was conducted by Sylvia L. Mayuga, a seasoned lover of country.