Zaccheus Jackson, a nationally known and locally loved spoken word poet from Vancouver, has died. He was 36.

Jackson was in Toronto, where he was scheduled to perform at the International Poetry Slam.

Toronto police confirmed Friday that Jackson was the man killed by a freight train Wednesday afternoon about 1 p.m. Alcohol was found nearby.

Jackson posted a selfie on his Instagram Wednesday showing him by the train tracks with a partly consumed six pack of beer by his side. He called the photo “Trantrackssixpackriffraff.”

On his Facebook page, he referred to himself as having “spent the first half of the last decade battling the demons of his addiction, and accredits East Vancouver’s Spoken Word scene (and Commercial Drive itself) for giving him something worthwhile to dream about.”

Chris Gilpin, the executive director of Vancouver Poetry House, said Jackson had an incredible passion for youth arts education and writing poetry. He said his death is affecting a lot of people.

“He was a huge spoken word poet across Canada,” Gilpin said Friday.

Jackson’s Facebook page lists him as being the 2013 Vancouver Grand Slam Champ and artist-in-residence at New Westminster secondary from 2011 to 2013. He was on the Vancouver Poetry Slam team six times and twice represented Vancouver and Western Canada at the Individual World Poetry Slam.

On his Facebook page, Jackson called himself an “East Van ghetto poet” who would “leave you counting syllables in your head.”

He was a member of the Piikani Blackfoot Nation of southern Alberta.

Gilpin, who had known Jackson since 2005, said he was about to embark on a nine-week tour of the country.

He said Jackson was heavily involved in WordPlay, a Vancouver Poetry House program that sends poets into schools to run workshops and perform poetry for school assemblies.

Jackson was also involved in Full Circle, a local arts performance group focusing on aboriginal stories, worked with the Urban Native Youth Association and taught at Britannia secondary.

Gilpin described Jackson’s spoken-word poetry, which told stories about his life, as incredibly complex in meaning and form.

Jackson lived in an apartment overlooking Commercial Drive for the past eight to 10 years, and his home was a focus for the poetry community and other groups he was involved with, Gilpin said.

“He would have big feasts for Canada Day, and the East Van Orphans Christmas at his house, where he would cook food for everyone,” he said.

“He called them his potlatches. He never did anything halfway. Zaccheus was always all the way with everything.”

Jackson's memorial service will be held Tuesday, September 2nd at the WISE Hall (1882 Adanac St), with doors opening at 5pm. It is open to the general public.

Stephanie Slater described him as an “amazing slam poet” after seeing him perform last month at the Denman Island Readers and Writers Festival.

“When they say larger than life — that cliché really applied to him,” she said in a phone interview. “He was brimming with vitality and energy. You just wanted him to succeed.”

On Jackson’s Instagram account, several friends left tributes to the spoken-word poet.

“I love ya buddy, more than you will ever imagine,” wrote martyl11. “This has been one of the worse (sic) days of my life. When we meet again, look out.”

VictorJcamus wrote: “#onlythegooddieyoung miss you buddy see you next time.”

Davidsilverberg wrote: “God I’m gonna miss you, friend.”

kevingriffin@vancouversun.com