The poet Ocean Vuong, who came to the US with his family aged two as a refugee from Vietnam, has been awarded a grant of $625,000 (£504,000) by the MacArthur Foundation.

Vuong, who won the TS Eliot and Forward prizes with his debut collection, Night Sky With Exit Wounds, is one of seven writers who have been given no-strings-attached fellowships – aka “genius grants” – which are intended to allow recipients to “continue to innovate, take risks, and pursue their vision”.

The MacArthur Foundation praised Vuong for poetry that marries “folkloric traditions with linguistic experimentation”. His is a “vital new literary voice demonstrating mastery of multiple poetic registers while addressing the effects of intergenerational trauma, the refugee experience, and the complexities of identity and desire,” it added.