Tragedy claims East Vancouver inspiration

Slam poetry performer Zaccheus Jackson Nyce (fourth from left backrow) was struck and killed by a train in Toronto on Aug. 27. A member of the Piikani Nation, Nyce, 36, was in the midst of a solo tour of Canada. Nyce ended up living in East Vancouver, battling a drug addiction. He found a way to overcome when he hit it big entering a slam poetry competition in 2005 and going on to win a spot on the Vancouver Poetry Slam Team that would compete nationally. He turned that success and his experience into working with youth. His death has been ruled accidental. In a statement to CBC, his family said he was “a free spirit” and an artist. “Like most successful artists, he needed life experiences to bring him inspiration.”