Dr Bell is a poet, philosopher and performer.

As the founding director of The Australian Poetry Centre, Dr Bell has produced and toured theatre around Australia and overseas.

She has two books of poetry that she has toured internationally and her first novel was shortlisted for the Dorothy Hewett Award 2018.

She has a Doctorate in Creative Arts from the University of Wollongong and has taught philosophy for the last three years at the Western Sydney University, before moving to Port Macquarie this year and is writing a book inspired by Virginia Woolf's "To the Lighthouse".  She will be premiering a performance of Virginia Woolf's classic novel on King Island later in the year and then hopes to stage it in Port Macquarie early next year. 

Dr Bell has attended several forums and says she's been impressed with the number of people attending and their involvement in the discussions.

"The audience appears to be really hungry for information and they really listen to what is being said," she said.

"I've also been really amazed that the audiences are not just older people, with plenty of younger people attending.

"I relocated from Sydney just recently and these forums have proven a bit of a life raft."

With philosophy enjoying something of a renaissance, Dr Bell said people are looking for intellectual stimulation and the chance to agree to disagree.

"It is making a comeback. When religion is not as much a part of our society, philosophy fills a void," she said.

"In a secular society, philosophy is sometimes our ethical guide."

Dr Bell praised the Port Macquarie forums as a place where new ideas can be raised and discussed.

"It is a chance to not be afraid to disagree. It's the chance to have a debate," she added.

In her doctoral thesis, titled The Book of Ambiguity, she explored Simone De Beauvoir's philosophical works and their relevance to art and activism. 

Her talk title is: The Ambiguity of Freedom - the philosophical choices of Simone Weil and Simone de Beauvoir.

"Female philosophers are rarely spoken about, which forms part of the reason behind my topic," she said.

"In this talk I will explore the philosophical ideas of both Simone Weil and Simone de Beauvoir, and find their ultimate path of intersection.

"Often lost in the shadows of feminism, existentialism, mysticism or radicalism; Simone Weil, and her fellow philosophy student, Simone de Beauvoir, chose very different paths, but ultimately left a legacy of brilliant philosophical essays, poems and stories. 

"Each struggled with the concept of their own freedom and the oppression of others. 

"However, Weil and de Beauvoir found their own solutions to human freedom and social justice amid the paralysing inertia of a world of great inequality and human suffering."

The Port Macquarie Philosophy Forum is at the Port City Bowling Club on Thursday September 27, 6pm to about 7.30pm.

Cost is $10 or $5 pensioner concession.