Martin, James

Epithet: of Add MS 35789

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000001301.0x0000ce

Epithet: of Vaterard, county Galway

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000001301.0x0000d0

Epithet: Paston's Regt

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000001301.0x0000d1

Epithet: steamboat proprietor, of Glasgow

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000001301.0x0000d2

Biography

James M. Martin was born on March 23, 1943 in Corpus Christi, Texas. In the early 1960s, Martin attended Texas Christian University and received degrees in English and Journalism. After graduating, he moved to Los Angeles and attended film school at the University of California at Los Angeles. While living in Los Angeles he was active in anti-war and counterculture movements and earned a living as an editor and contributor to several Los Angeles-based magazines and newspapers. It was during this time that Martin entered into one of his first homosexual relationships.

In the late 1970s, Martin married a woman whom he met while working for the magazine, Coast . The two moved to Vermont where their first son, Alex, was born. The family returned to Texas, where a second son, Zack, was born. Martin then entered law school at Saint Mary's University, San Antonio and subsequently went into private practice. In 1981, Martin and his wife divorced.

Around that time, Martin "underwent a spiritual transformation" and by 1985, founded an occult fraternal order, the Ordo Templi Baphe-Metis, as well as the American Gnostic Church. He participated in a number of other occult organizations. In 1995, he founded the Servants of the Star and Snake as well as the Sahaja Society, which explored tantric, Kundalini and Sahajayana theory and practice. In addition, Martin wrote and published occult periodicals and newsletters, including The Aurea Flamma and The Trident .

As of June 2008, James Martin continues to practice law in Corpus Christi, Texas.

From the guide to the James M. Martin diaries, 1971-1995, (ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives.)