Poetry. RISK THE PIER draws us into moments in the lives of a rich cast of characters. In the dramatic tradition developed by the Victorian poet Robert Browning, these poems force the reader to see the situation from the inside. Argument, philosophy and back-story are deftly intertwined, often within the strict confines of traditional form. Browning mined Renaissance Europe for inspiration. Roche-Jacques, in turn, delves into the genteel hypocrisy of the Victorian era, as well as exploring our own truth-anxious times. What shines through it all is that human character remains unchanged in essentials. Speakers line up to persuade, chastise, to mediate and meditate, with a distinctive mix of ferocity and side-long shrewdness.