Erez Biton, born in 1942 in Oran, Algeria, came to Israel in 1948 and was the first Mizraḥi poet to give poignant expression to the inner conflicts of acculturation. A childhood accident from an unexploded grenade while he was playing in a junkyard left Biton blinded and maimed, and added a dimension of rare acuteness, sensitivity, and immediacy to his poetry and persona. Labeled a "cultural icon," Biton overcame his handicaps and poverty to become a social worker with an M.A. in psychology. He founded and edited the literary journal Apirion, served as president of the Hebrew Writers…