From the mid-1950s, Bell became a member of The Group in London, having been introduced by Peter Redgrove following a chance meeting outside Chiswick Library.
He was later described by Philip Hobsbaum as "much older than the rest of us, and much the best linguist;" and by Peter Porter as "the father and tone-setter of Group discussions.
He was awarded the first Arts Council Poetry Bursary in 1964, enabling him to work part-time and allowing more time for writing.
Bell succeeded David Wright to the Gregory Fellowship in Poetry at the University of Leeds, having been recommended for the position by Professor Norman Jeffares.
Bell's seminars generally involved between five and seven students, who discussed poems "by famous, but ... unfamiliar, writers," and were perhaps influenced by his experience with The Group.
Szirtes later acknowledged the influence that Bell had had on his own poetic development, describing him as "a good and kind teacher" and "very important to me, the first real poet in my life".
[12] In 1997, Martin Bell's Reverdy Translations were published by Whiteknights Press with a foreword by Peter Porter and an introduction by John Pilling.