The director of the Henry Miller Library talks about his previous life.

As the executive director of the Henry Miller Memorial Library, Magnus Toren has long been the purveyor of other people’s stories and performances. Now he would like to tell you his own. But he’s not going to tell you beforehand what that story is.

The cloaked nature is part of the appeal – he hopes.

Here is a little foreshadowing: He’s going to talk about his years as a professional sailor, about almost drowning with a descendent of a mutineer on the Bounty. And more. There will be film, photos and music.

“Friends and acquaintances have said, ‘You have to write a book or talk about these stories in a more disciplined manner,’” Toren says.

But at a time when anyone can Google anything, he wants to retain some obscurity about his stories until he’s got an audience in front of him. Like the Peabody Award-winning The Kitchen Sisters podcast team did when they came to the library and had audiencce members sit or lay down in the dark while they unfurled stories on them like blankets.

But also, Toren’s not exactly sure what his stories are about.

And to analyze them too deeply might chase off the bounty they may contain.

“Did I learn anything from my travels?” he muses. “Something applicable to something more than just adventure stories?

“I’ve been fishing for those things. And I still don’t have it all.”

SAILING AROUND THE WORLD WITH MAGNUS is 7:30pm Friday, July 28, at Henry Miller Lab, 3728 The Barnyard, Carmel. Free. 667-2574 to RSVP.