N. D. Cocea (common rendition of
Nicolae Dumitru Cocea, , also known as
Niculae,
Niculici or
Nicu Cocea; November 29, 1880 – February 1, 1949) was a
Romanian journalist, novelist, critic and
left-wing political activist, known as a major but controversial figure in the field of political
satire. The founder of many newspapers and magazines, including
Viața Socială,
Rampa,
Facla and
Chemarea, collaborating with writer friends such as
Tudor Arghezi,
Gala Galaction and
Ion Vinea, he fostered and directed the development of early
modernist literature in Romania. Cocea later made his name as a
republican and
anticlerical agitator, was arrested as an instigator during the
1907 peasant revolt, and played a leading role in regrouping the scattered
socialist clubs. His allegiances however switched between parties: during
World War I, he supported the
Entente Powers and, as a personal witness of the
October Revolution, the government of
Soviet Russia, before returning home as a
communist.