The Displaced Nation

Ahoy me hearties! Two years ago on Monday, The Three Pirateers — how I like to refer to Anthony Windram, Kate Allison and myself, the Displaced Nation’s founding contributors — swashbuckled our way into this site and declared it a home for ourselves and anyone else who has ever felt “displaced”.

Land ho! we cried, thinking we’d finally found a place to settle our poor, restless souls. No foolin’! (Hm, I wish I were sometimes!)

But as time went on, we were less confident about the nomenclature we’d selected:

• Shiver me timbers! Is “displaced” really the right word? Shouldn’t it be reserved for those who’ve been driven out of their homes because of natural disaster or political strife? (We recently recruited the writer Andy Martin to educate us on how the lives of those who are forcibly displaced compare with our own, more privileged version.)
• Are we just about the expat life? What about those who see themselves as international travelers or nomads? Are they mere picaroons? And repats, for that matter — are they “displaced” and in what ways? (My series, “Lessons from Two Small Islands,” kicked off a series of posts by repatriates who report they’ve had displacement aplenty back home.)
• And do the people who lead “displaced” lives but don’t necessarily identify with the rest of us need to walk the plank? (I’m thinking of author and self-publishing guru Joanna Penn, who didn’t reveal her expat status until she decided to return to the UK and wrote a post about what “home” means.)

Our debates always ended with one of us saying: “Let’s drink grog before the fog.” And a bottle of rum would be passed around … after which we’d conclude that even if we couldn’t find a satisfactory descriptor for our state of mind, international travel had changed us into a bunch of scallywags.

By that I mean, people who’ve taken the road less traveled by — which, ironically, means we’ve traveled more than most. Certainly more than our kith and kin. Indeed, a significant number of us come from families where we are the only ones leading the so-called displaced life.

Our not-so-hidden booty

Avast ye!

We were so busy navel (hahaha) gazing for our first two years that we missed the treasure that was right in front of us.

It wasn’t even buried!

Our treasure, of course, consists of those creative geniuses who’ve produced something remarkable out of the displaced life — be it a novel, a travelogue, an artwork, a business or a social enterprise.

Blow me down! We are a site for international creatives, that’s what we are.

Blimey, how come it took so long for us to figure it out?

Our second incarnation

“Aaaarrrrgggghhhh!” I can hear some of you saying. “I don’t give a crusty stocking for your second incarnation. I like the Displaced Nation just the way it is.”

To which I may respond: “It ain’t healthy fer a ship to sail too long without off loadin’ some cargo, lest it start to fester, aye?”

That said, to call this a second incarnation may be going a tad overboard.

Particularly as we still have a category “just for laughs.”

Indeedy deed. We will continue to shelter anyone whose travels have helped them to cultivate a cutlass-sharp sense of humor.

We’ve still got our black pirate hearts…

Besides, we aren’t clearing the deck completely. That wench Libby — and her crawfish! — will still be here. But on the weeks when she isn’t published, we will have posts full of observations on England versus New England (the stuff that matters when navigating the globe!).

And we’ll still have Capital Ideas — only the treasure hunts will be even richer.

And we’ll of course have even more writers and artists on board.

Last but far from least, we’ll be rolling out some new columns. I’m not giving anything away here, but one of our new mateys is the infamous Cap’n Jack! (Now if that isn’t a hook, I don’t know what is!!)

Aye, plenty of booty for ye!

* * *

Okay, I’ve got two pistols, one plank and I’m out of patience. Any questions?! Seriously, if you have comments or suggestions as we proceed into our third year, let us know! And every time you run across a creative work by a displaced person, please email me (or one of my mateys)! I don’t know about the rest of ’em, but I can be reached at ml [at] thedisplacednation [dot] com.

Until then, may fair winds and good grog come yer way — and never forget that from now on, ye know where “home” is!

STAY TUNED for tomorrow’s post, some musings on the fine art of photography in an international travel setting by Andy Martin.

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Related posts:

• Happy World Party Day to our virtual friends! Just because we’re Displaced doesn’t mean we can’t have parties!
• Bye for now, world!

Image: MorgueFile