Known as a Tempo journalist for the arts and culture. Seno was born in Malang, February 18, 1970. He spent his childhood and education in the city of Malang.
He studied Philosophy at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta in the 90s until he graduated. And had time to study philosophy further at the Drijarkara School of Philosophy, Jakarta. His thesis work was published in a book entitled A Racist Body: Michel Foucault's Critical Study on the Basis of Self-Establishment of the Middle Class in Europe (2002).
Seno has been pursuing writing since his youth with works of poetry and essays. Aside from being a journalist, Seno is also involved in the field of cultural issues. In addition to the regular news written in the media, Seno has also published several books and novels. Some of the books he has produced include Titik Mayad WS, Mother of Actors, and Kasim Ahmad, Educator and Art Bureaucracy, and The Theater of East and West. These books are related to the field of education he is involved in, namely as a theater teacher at the Jakarta Art Institute (IKJ). In addition, the book also introduces figures who are not popular in society but have an important role in developing the field of culture in Indonesia. Kasim Ahmad was one of the recipients of the Cultural Satya Badge from the Indonesian government in 2016 for theatre.
Some of the novels he has written No Saint from the Circus (2010) and The Temple at the Bottom of the Sea (20..)
Seno also wrote scripts and directed films. 2006, his film work Drizzle Memories and Friends are forgotten. Tells the story of old Indonesianists from Moscow and St Petersburg. The film received the Citra trophy as a documentary film in the 2006 FFI. In 2022, Seno returned to writing and directing a new film called Mahendraparvata. A collaborative work between Indonesia and Cambodia with the background of research results in archaeological studies that trace the cultural roots of the meeting between Ancient Java and Cambodian roots.
Since 2012, together with a number of friends -Yoke Darmawan, Wicaksana Adi, Dorothea Rosa Herliani, and Imam Mutharam - who are members of the Samana Foundation, Seno Joko Suyono has been involved in the annual Borobudur Writer Cultural Festival (BWCF). A cultural activity that is mostly held around the Magelang and Yogyakarta areas, BWCF provides an opportunity to meet academics from various fields of history, anthropology, archeology, literature and several other disciplines who do a lot of research with writers who work a lot with writings that are based on the results of their research. the academician. Apart from that, BWCF is also a space for expression for artists to display works related to poetry and the performing arts field.
In recent years BWCF has also held full moon meditation to give it a spiritual color. Since the beginning, BWCF has given awards in the form of the Sang Hyang Kamahayanikan Award to academics or artists who work and pursue rare fields. The name Sang Hyang Kamahayanikan is taken from an ancient Javanese literary text from the X century. A naming that refers to ancient cultural roots that exist in the archipelago tradition.
Thus, Seno Joko Suyono's involvement, which on the one hand relies on the profession of a journalist, but his mastery of knowledge and his life's desire to involve and support the fields of knowledge that underlie the culture of the Archipelago, have moved him in various fields of involvement. From the knowledge he received from a university in Yogyakarta, his presence and character are felt by various parties in Indonesia. ***