He’s a man who requires very little in the way of an introduction – though he deserves an epic one.

Since the late 1970’s the legendary work of photographer Bruce Weber has graced the covers of countless magazine covers, advertising campaigns and books, not only providing him with godlike status in the fashion world but also defining his images as synonymous with the idealistic view of wholesome American youth. Chiselled jaws, athletic bodies and freshfaced innocence are a representation of modern Americana itself.

The latest edition to Weber’s ongoing literary and art journal series All American celebrates individuals whose risk-taking and personal vision sets them apart from the crowd.

There’s a common enthusiasm running through this volume, a sense that this cast of characters – be they subjects of the book or contributors to it – were born ready to stand up, face the odds, and declare themselves unabashedly to the world. We spoke to Bruce to find out more.

Thomas Davis: All-American Volume XIII: Born Ready opens with a poem by Sherman Alexie. What significance does this poem have to you and your work?

Bruce Weber: I believe that when someone writes and photographs from a place of joy or pain or happiness or suffering, there’s always a truthful moment that rings out in an enduring way over time. I think that’s why I really responded to Sherman Alexie’s writing about Native America culture – while it looks to the future, it reflects living with this past.

TD: The journal celebrates those whose risk-taking and personal vision set them apart from the crowd. Why is it important for you to showcase these individuals?

BW: The individuals we choose to focus on as editors comes out of long conversations among all five of us. [Editor] Nathaniel Kilcer and I wanted to so a story about the senior prom, which is a big deal in high schools across America. It turned out that the photographer Sean Thomas, who is a friend of Nathaniel’s, grew up in Omaha, Nebraska. You can’t get any more American than that. So we sent him off with his camera to capture the town of his youth. Another idea came from [editor] Matthew Richards, who was excited by the story of Edith Windsor and her life-long relationship with her partner Thea Spyer, especially at this moment, when gay people are getting a chance to “tie the knot.” Their relationship stuck a chord with all of us. Sometimes we choose a subject that not everyone agrees with, but if it’s a strong story, sometimes it rises to the top and ends up in the issue.

TD: Over the past eleven years you have covered all types of works by artists, photographers, and personalities whose lives or achievements you wish to celebrate. Would you say the books portray more your personal vision of America or theirs?

BW: I believe All-American definitely reflects the editor’s visions of America, but of equal or greater importance is the vision of the people in it. Sometimes their vision is one we don’t quite understand, and I find those moments very exciting. I think it’s hard to have a cohesive sense of what America is these days – with this journal, we try to show a small piece of what it is like.

TD: Do you have a personal favourite from the portfolio of commissioned paintings by Ralph Wolfe Cowan? Apparently he painted Michael Jackson four times in 1993…

BW: I have always loved Ralph Cowan’s work, because he painted Johnny Mathis for the cover of one of my favorite albums of his, Heavenly. But I first saw my favourite painting of Ralph’s when I walked into Elizabeth Taylor’s home on Niems Road in Bel Air. There was Ralph’s portrait of Elizabeth in a white suit. My friend Joe McKenna knew how much I loved the painting, and while Elizabeth was still alive he tried to buy it from her. She couldn’t part with it, because it had once belonged to her mother. Otherwise, I really think she would have just given it to me. I wish that someday Ralph will paint my dogs.