[1] Syrjä was born in Pälkäne, the son of Martta née Niemiö and Juho Nestori Syrjä, who were both cattle traders and farmers.

[2] Syrjä then moved to Tampere,[2] where he worked for the railroad equipment and steam locomotive manufacturing company Lokomo.

[5] Syrjä was a member of the Union of Finnish Writers from 1970 to 1975,[2] and president from 1975 to 1980.

[2] Syrjä won the City of Tampere Literature Prize three times from 1956 to 1988.

[7] Syrjä died of COVID-19 in May 2022, aged 96, at a care home in Ylöjärvi.